4.2 - Exploration: Causes and Events

Which of the following best explains an effect of Spanish voyages across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in Europe in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?

• They encouraged many governments to expand the use of coerced labor in Europe.

• They led to the rapid spread of epidemic diseases such as smallpox.

• They greatly increased interest in transoceanic travel and trade in other European countries.

• They led to the introduction of new staple crops such as sugar.

Which of the following best explains a similar motivation behind the establishment of Portuguese trading posts in Africa and the establishment of Portuguese trading posts in Asia?

• The trading posts in both regions were intended to prevent economic collapse following the disintegration of powerful local empires.

• The trading posts in both regions were intended to facilitate commercial cooperation between European states.

• The trading posts in both regions were intended to facilitate the transfer of slaves to the Americas.

• The trading posts in both regions were intended to allow the Portuguese to control access to heavily trafficked maritime routes.